


What do you mean you bought a gun?

by wenwalke



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Brotherly Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wenwalke/pseuds/wenwalke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie feels threatened, and decides to buy a gun. What happens next could cost Charlie and Don their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is another of my older Numb3rs stories from March 2010.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or any of the characters, they belong to CBS. However, the plot and any mistakes are mine.

Charlie lay there with only a flashlight to illuminate the small area in which he, and Don were trapped. There was nothing else he could do, but wait for help to arrive, even though there was a very real possibility that Don could die from his wound, before they were dug out. Charlie had no idea how bad the wound was, just that he’d caused it. As he looking at Don in the dim light, he thought back to the other evening when he’d told his family about buying the gun. 

Don was having similar thoughts to Charlie. Maybe if he’d handled things differently when Charlie had told them about the gun, none of this would have happened. Then they wouldn’t be trapped here waiting for a rescue that may be too late, judging by the tons of concrete hanging above them.

They’d been having a quiet family dinner when suddenly Charlie made his announcement about buying a gun. 

“What do you mean you bought a gun? Charlie, guns are dangerous, you know that.” Don was astounded. 

“Charlie, I don’t want you bringing a gun in this house. You know how I feel about violence of any kind.” Even Alan seemed to be mad at Charlie.

“Don brings a gun into the house Dad, you don’t stop him. And this is my house.” This was going about as well as Charlie had thought it would go. He had to admit that he’d had doubts himself about buying the gun. But under the circumstances it had seemed like a good idea.

“That’s different Charlie and you know it. Don is an FBI agent. He carries a gun as part of his job.” Charlie had to allow his dad that point. Carrying a gun was definitely part of Don’s job.

“Dad, you know someone’s been threatening me,” Charlie replied in evident frustration but wanting to reason with his dad. “Don doesn’t seem at all concerned about it, so I decided to get a gun for my own protection.”

“Of course I’m concerned, Charlie. But it’s been a week, and there’s just no real evidence. I’ve done everything I can, and my team have cases they should be working. I had to pull them off you and back to FBI business.” 

Don leaned back in his chair looking at Charlie, as several thoughts went through his head. I can’t believe he did that, going out and buying a gun is a big step. Christ he doesn’t even know how to use a gun properly. Okay, so he’s had a two day FBI course, but that doesn’t qualify him to own a gun. If he’s serious about carrying it, I’d better take him out to the FBI training course and teach him how to use it properly. Then again, maybe I’ll just be the overbearing big brother and take it away from him.

Before Don could voice any of his thoughts, Alan was speaking again.

“So where’s this gun, Charlie? Show it to us.”

“It’s in the garage in the gun safe I bought to keep it in.” Charlie looked at his dad, his eyes pleading with him to understand. “Dad, I know how you feel about guns, and violence, but I feel I need the reassurance of a gun.”

Getting up with a sigh, Charlie headed out to the garage. “If you really want to see it I’ll show it to you.”

Don and Alan looked at each other, then quickly got up and followed Charlie out to the garage.

Charlie had attached the gun safe to one of the shelves in the garage and was just opening it as they came in. “Here, it’s not loaded.” Charlie said as he held the gun out towards his father.

“I don’t want to hold it,” Alan said as he stepped back putting his hands up in front of him.

“Here let me see it,” Don said stepping forward and taking the gun from Charlie’s hand to examine it.

“I have all the permits necessary to store and carry a gun, Don. I even took a course at a gun range on how to handle and shoot it. Lot’s of people have guns, Dad.” Charlie was looking at his dad again now, still hoping for understanding.

“This is a shock, Charlie. I never thought I’d have to worry about you carrying a gun.” Alan sank into the couch running his hands through his hair, and sighing. 

“I still don’t understand why you’d even think of getting a gun, Charlie. Who put the idea in your head? It better not have been anyone on my team.” Don had finished checking the gun and was putting it back in the gun safe. He knew someone must have suggested the gun to Charlie. No way Charlie would just go out and buy a gun. If it had been one of his team, then that someone was in for it.

“Actually it was Professor Fletcher who suggested it to me. He knows about the problems I’ve been having, and suggested that if you weren’t going to help me anymore, I should look out for myself.”

“Charlie, I told you. There is no one threatening you. Everything you think has happened has just been you blowing things out of proportion, or a coincidence. Stop being paranoid.” This whole thing had Don frustrated. He and his team could find nothing to support Charlie’s claim of being threatened. As much as he wanted to believe his brother, it was looking more and more like Charlie was imagining things.

“Okay, I’ve had enough. I want the two of you to leave me alone. Go back in the house I have work to do out here.” With that Charlie went over to one of his white boards and picked up a marker, effectively dismissing both Don, and his dad.

With a sigh, Alan got up from the couch and pulled Don out of the garage before he could continue arguing with Charlie. Alan knew that at this point leaving Charlie alone was the best thing to do. Both his sons needed time to cool off.

After they left, Charlie sank onto the couch. He didn’t believe in coincidences, and no way was he imagining things. He knew that something was going on. The only person who seemed to believe him was Professor Fletcher, who’d joined the physics department after Larry left for his sabbatical. Even Amita was sceptical. She’d not witnessed any of the incidents. Actually no one had. Frowning now Charlie started to wonder about why everything seemed to happen when no one else was around.

As Don helped Alan clean up the dinner dishes, he started thinking back over the last week trying to figure out if he could be wrong. He didn’t see how he or David and Colby could have missed any obvious threatening signs, unless it was someone inside CalSci, but that didn’t make any sense. Reaching a decision Don turned to Alan.

“Dad, I’m going to head into the office for a while. I think I owe it to Charlie to take another look at this, seeing as he’s so convinced he’s right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Don headed out to his SUV already going over the events of the last week. Once he got to the office he knew he’d have all the details he needed as they’d compiled a lot of information. They’d been treating this as a potential threat against a high level government consultant, until Don had pulled the plug. Now he was wondering if maybe he’d let the fact that Charlie was his little brother influence his judgement, instead of treating him as the consultant he was.

Don arrived at the FBI office and found the file he needed in the closed case cabinet. Getting himself a cup of coffee, he went into a conference room and sat down to go over the file.

The first incident had happened six days ago and Charlie hadn’t reported it at the time. He’d returned to his office from presenting a lecture to find all his markers in the middle of his desk ruined. The insides had been pulled out and cut into small pieces. Thinking that it was just an inappropriate student prank, he’d removed and disposed of the markers without reporting it to anyone. 

The next day he’d come back to his office from lunch with Amita and found a message on the black board. “Just think. Those markers could’ve been your insides pulled out. Maybe next time it will be.” This time he’d called Don. But by the time Don had arrived the message was gone. Charlie had claimed he’d only left his office for a few minutes to go to the bathroom, and when he’d come back the message had been erased. Don had believed him, but without evidence could do nothing. 

The third incident had been an almost hit and run out in the parking lot. Charlie had been working late on an equation with Professor Fletcher, and as he walked to his car he’d almost been run down by a speeding vehicle. No one had been around that late at night, and Professor Fletcher was still in his office and didn’t see or hear anything. There were no tire marks, and no camera footage. The fact that the camera had been vandalized, two days prior, and not yet fixed, meant that it couldn’t be a deliberate act so the incident wouldn’t be caught on tape. 

Don had David and Colby check things out anyway, but they’d turned up nothing.

The next day Charlie’s car had broken down on the I10, and his cell phone was nowhere to be found. Luckily, Amita was not far behind him and picked him up. When the tow truck arrived to pick up the car it’d been sideswiped by a transport and was a write off. After seeing the car Don was glad Charlie hadn’t been sitting in it waiting for the tow truck. The last two incidents had concerned Don a lot more than any of the others. But he still wasn’t sure that Charlie was right in thinking he was being threatened. David and Colby had been unable to find the truck, and no one had come forward as witnesses to the incident. Charlie’s car had been examined, but was too badly damaged to find the original cause of it’s breaking down.

Yesterday, Charlie had arrived home to find that all his work in the garage had been erased. Don figured it was kids from the neighbourhood, and reminded Charlie that he should lock the doors whenever his was not home. Charlie was adamant that he’d locked the doors, and someone had broken in. There was absolutely no evidence that anyone had broken into the garage, and Charlie had admitted that the door was unlocked when he’d arrived home. Alan hadn’t been out to the garage that day, so couldn’t confirm whether the doors were locked or not. Don had tried to talk to Charlie and explain that these things were all coincidences, but Charlie wouldn’t listen to him.

Today Charlie had claimed someone was following him from the time he left home, until he reached CalSci, and then when he left CalSci to go to the FBI. Amita had been with Charlie and admitted that she hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. Don had already reassigned David and Colby, and told Charlie that he needed to stop worrying, he was probably just having a bad week.

Now he knew that Charlie had not listened to him, and taken matters into his own hands. He still couldn’t believe that Charlie had gone out and bought a gun. Obviously he was around the FBI too much if he felt he could carry a gun as if he were an agent.

With a sigh, Don put down the file and ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed the back of his neck. There was still nothing in the file that screamed at him. The one thing that did strike him was that this new Professor Fletcher was around for two of the incidents, but saw nothing. Don had met him and didn’t really like him, but that was no reason to think he was involved in any of this. No, Charlie had to be blowing this all out of proportion. If someone was out to get Charlie, going about it this way made no sense. 

Getting up, Don decided to go home and get some sleep. It was now well past midnight. Maybe in the morning he’d have David review the file and see if he could come up with anything different. Also, he’d run a check on this Professor Fletcher just to be on the safe side. Grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair Don put the file in his desk and headed home.

The next morning Don got in early and was reviewing the file again when David walked in. “Hey David, can you do me a favour? Go over this file on Charlie and let me know what you think. Look at it as if it’s someone other than Charlie.”

“Okay Don, I’ll read it and let you know what I come up with.” Taking the file from Don, David headed over to his own desk. 

While David was reading the file, Don started a background check on Professor Fletcher. He was not expecting to find anything, but felt that he owed it the Charlie to at least check something out. Besides he was starting to get a bad feeling about all this. He’d woken up in a cold sweat after dreaming about Charlie in a shoot out with an unknown assailant.

An hour later David walked back to Don’s desk with a frown on his face. “Don, while I see nothing in the file that confirms Charlie’s belief that someone’s threatening him. I have a feeling that something doesn’t add up. What do you want to do?”

“I’m not sure there is anything we can do, David. According to Charlie something has happened every day for the past six days. I’m going to drop in at CalSci and see if anything else has happened today.”

“Okay. Well, Colby and I can drop in later this afternoon as we’ll be in that area. I think you should check out this Professor Fletcher. He’s new, and seems to be around a lot.”

“Yeah David, I’ve already got that underway.” Taking the file back, Don placed it in his desk drawer. Standing up he turned to leave, then turned back to David, “Look, when the background check comes back on Professor Fletcher, call me. I’m going over to see Charlie now. I want to make sure everything’s alright.”

David acknowledged Don’s request with a wave of the hand as he turned and headed back to his desk. As he took his seat Colby leaned over, “What’s going on? Something’s up with Charlie?”

“Don’s worried that Charlie could be right about being threatened, even with no real evidence. He’s on his way over the CalSci to make sure everything’s okay this morning.”

“You think someone is really after the wiz kid?” Colby asked.

“It looks like it’s a possibility. But right now we’ve work to do on our own case.”


	2. Chapter 2

Don drove as fast as he could to CalSci. The closer he got, the worse the bad feeling in his gut became. Parking as close to the doors of the math building as he could, he took the stairs two at a time, and almost ran down the hallway to Charlie’s office. The doors were closed, and locked, that wasn’t right. It was the middle of the morning. Charlie should be there. Don hammered on the door for a minute before he pulled out his cell and called Charlie’s number. He heard the phone ring on the other side of the door, but got no answer. 

Don was about to head down to security to demand they open Charlie’s office, when Amita appeared in the hallway. “Amita, you have a key to Charlie’s office, don’t you?”

“Yes, but Charlie should be in there.” Amita said with a puzzled look on her beautiful face. “He has a lecture in a few minutes, and hasn’t called to cancel it. When I left the house this morning he said he’d see me before his lecture.”

“Well I’ve been banging on the door, but he’s not answering. His cell phone’s in there. I heard it ring when I called him.” Don’s bad feeling was steadily getting worse.

Amita took out her key and opened the door. Don pushed past her into the office. There was no immediate sign of Charlie. After looking around the whole office, it became evident that the only thing of Charlie’s there was his cell phone. 

“Where the hell is he? I’m calling Dad, maybe he knows where Charlie is.” 

Walking over to the window to call his dad, Don looked down and realised that Charlie’s car was not parked in its regular parking spot. The call was answered by Alan, who immediately questioned Don.

“Don, have you heard from Charlie? He ran out of here so fast this morning I swear he flew to his car.”

“No Dad that’s why I’m calling. He’s not here at CalSci, and he has a lecture soon. His cell phone is on his desk, but his laptop and bag are missing. So is his car. Did he have his cell when he left the house?”

“Yeah he had it in his hand. He’d just finished talking on it when he flew out of here. I don’t know who he was talking to, but they really got him upset.”

“Okay Dad. I’ll see what I can find out here, and I’ll call you later.” Don was already heading towards the door as he spoke.

Amita also headed out the door with Don. “I think you should check with Professor Fletcher. He’s been hanging around Charlie a lot lately. There’s something not quite right with him.”

Don had been having the exact same thought. “That’s the first place I was going Amita. Which way is his office?”

“It’s down there, second door on the right,” Amita said pointing down the hallway. “I’m going to dismiss Charlie’s class. Please call me if you find him.” With that Amita headed in the opposite direction.

Professor Fletcher was sitting behind his desk with his office door wide open, so Don just walked in. “Professor Fletcher, have you seen Professor Eppes this morning?”

“Excuse me? You are?” The professor asked.

“We met the other day, I’m Charlie’s brother, Don, and I’ve been trying to find him,” Don said impatiently. He knew Fletcher recognised him. His suspicion of the professor ramped up a few more degrees.

“Why yes, he was here earlier. He seemed very agitated about something.” The condescending tone of voice surprised Don. He’d thought this professor liked Charlie but maybe he’d been wrong.

“Do you have any idea where he may have gone?”

“No, I’m sorry but I don’t. I have a lot of tests to mark, so if you’ll excuse me I must get back to them.” The dismissive tone in Professor Fletcher’s voice set Don thinking that there was something going on between Charlie and the professor. If only Don could figure out what that was. 

Walking over to the desk Don placed his card in front of the professor. “If you see Charlie, or think of anything that might help me locate him, I’d appreciate you calling.” With that Don turned and left the office.

Don sat in his SUV trying to figure out what was going on with Charlie, and after talking to Professor Fletcher he knew it had to have something to do with him. His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing, the display said David. “Eppes.”

“Don the background check on Professor Fletcher just came back. You’re not going to believe this. He is the stepbrother of a killer that Charlie helped the LAPD catch last year when he didn’t have his FBI clearance. The man tried to shoot it out with LAPD and lost, so I think Charlie could be right and he is being threatened.”

“Yeah, I spoke to Professor Fletcher a few minutes ago, and I knew something was off with him and Charlie. Look David, Charlie is missing. See if you can trace the GPS in his laptop. He left his phone here, either by intent, or accident. I’m going to go back and talk to Professor Fletcher again, I’m sure he’s behind this stuff happening to Charlie. Call me when you have the trace.” 

Don closed his phone, but before he could get out of the vehicle Amita came running from the building.

“I’m glad you’re still here, Don. I spoke to some of Charlie’s students when I went to dismiss them. They saw Charlie this morning. He appeared very agitated, and was in his office talking to Professor Fletcher about something. None of the students I spoke to think very highly of our new professor. Apparently he’s been making comments about Charlie behind his back, and then being friendly to his face.”

“Yeah something is going on with him. I got a bad feeling when I spoke to him a few minutes ago. We found out he’s related to someone Charlie helped LAPD find. I’m on my way back to talk to him again.” Don started to get out of the SUV.

Amita’s next words stopped him. “He’s gone, Don. I saw him leaving as I was talking with Charlie’s students. I’m scared. What if he’s done something to Charlie?” 

Don placed a reassuring hand on Amita’s arm. “Listen Amita, I’m sure all he is trying to do is scare, and upset, Charlie. I don’t know what he told him this morning, but it’s obviously upset Charlie enough to make him go off somewhere. I’ve already got David tracing Charlie’s laptop. Hopefully that’ll lead me too him.”

“I’ll come with you. Maybe I can talk to him, calm him down.” Amita started to head around the SUV to get in.

“No, I’d rather you went and stayed with dad. He’s pretty worried right now.” Don smiled at Amita trying to convey to her that this was the best thing she could do for Charlie. “Please Amita. Dad needs you.”

“Okay, but you’d better call as soon as you find him.” Amita left the SUV and headed over to her own car.

Don was halfway back to the FBI building when his cell phone rang. He didn’t recognise the number. “Eppes.”

“You won’t find him in time. He’s going to pay for causing the death of my brother. It’s poetic that he thinks he is saving his brother, don’t you think?” Don recognised the cold voice of Professor Fletcher on the other end of the phone.

“What do you mean Charlie thinks he’s saving me? Why would he think that?”

“Maybe because I told him that you were being held, and the only way you’d be released is if he went there himself, alone.”

“He’d have called me. There’s no way he’d just believe you.” Don argued.

“Well, I kind of told him that your cell was wired to a bomb, and if he called it you’d be dead. He really cares about you, doesn’t he?” Fletcher was obviously enjoying all this. “I’ll tell you were to find him if you’d like. You can pick up the pieces. There really is a bomb wired to a cell phone, and I can detonate it at anytime. He’s already there, and so will I be, soon. I’ll give you ten minutes after I get there to try and save him. Then I set of the bomb.”

“Then tell me where he is Fletcher.” Don pleaded.

“He’s at the same warehouse where my brother was killed. Figure it out. You don’t have very long.” With that Fletcher hung up.

Don immediately called David for the location of the warehouse. Once he had the location, he realised it was going to take him close to ten minutes to reach it from where he was, even with the siren and lights going. Don drove as fast as he could, but made a silent approach for the last couple of blocks, hoping that Fletcher wouldn’t realise he was there until too late. David and Colby were about five minutes behind him, along with LAPD.

Charlie’s car was parked by the entrance to the warehouse, along with another car that must belong to Fletcher. Don slid to a stop and jumped out of the SUV. He was out of time, so he ran to the building and entered quietly. As he crept forward he could hear Fletcher taunting Charlie from somewhere directly in front of him. Fletcher was in amongst some crates, and Don hoping to creep up behind him. He couldn’t see Charlie, but figured he was inside the doorway to what looked like an office. Then, as Charlie moved Don could just make him out.

Don was moving through the crates only a few feet behind Fletcher, who suddenly stood up and started shooting at Charlie, then dove to the right. Don had not brought his gun up as Charlie was in his line of fire. But he stood now and followed Fletcher’s movements intending to wing him. Suddenly, a bullet slammed into Don knocking him to the ground. Two things crossed his mind simultaneously. Damn I should have put my vest on. Charlie shot me!

As darkness threatened to envelope him, Don heard Fletcher’s voice, “You missed me, Charlie, but you managed to hit your brother. He thought he could creep up behind me, but I knew he was there all along. I’m not without a heart though, so I’ll give you two minutes to go to him. If he’s still alive, then you can both die together.”


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie had gotten up that morning still annoyed with both his dad, and Don. He hadn’t slept well as his mind had been going over everything that had happened the last six days. He knew that someone was out to scare him, and the way things were escalating he suspected that whoever it was would ultimately try to kill him. He now believed that it was someone at CalSci, and suspected Professor Fletcher. What he couldn’t work out was why the professor would be doing this to him. Maybe he should get over his annoyance and tell Don what he suspected.

When his phone rang, Charlie had just been putting on a pot of coffee for his dad. “Charles Eppes.”

“I have your brother. If you want to see him again don’t try to call him. His cell is wired to a bomb. You call, you kill him. I’ll also know if you call anyone on his team. You are to go to your office at CalSci. I’ve left instructions there for you.” With that the line went dead. He was right, that had been Professor Fletcher’s voice on the phone.

Charlie had started heading for the door, halfway through the call. As he flew out the door he barely noticed his dad on the stairs.

When he reached his office, and unlocked the door, he was roughly pushed in by someone behind him. Catching himself before he fell, Charlie turned to confront whoever had pushed him. 

Professor Fletcher was in the act of locking the door behind them. When he turned to face Charlie he had hatred written all over him.

“So, Charlie, you want to save you brother?” Fletcher sneered.

“Where is he Fletcher? What have you done with him? Why are you doing this?” Charlie asked as he walked around his desk putting his phone down. He felt a little safer with the desk between himself and Fletcher. 

“Wow that’s a lot of questions at once but I’ll only answer the last one for now.” Fletcher walked a little closer to the desk. “Because you caused my brother’s death last year, now you, and your brother, are going to pay with your lives.”

“What are you talking about? Who was your brother? How could I have caused your brothers death? I wasn’t working for the FBI then.” 

“I’m not going to tell you that. You have to figure it out for yourself. My brother was killed in a warehouse by LAPD, after you led them to him. That’s where you’ll find your brother sitting next to a bomb in the office.” Laughing, Fletcher returned to the door, unlocked and opened, it then stood to one side.

“I suggest that you get going, I’ll give you a twenty-minute head start. Then I’m going to set off the bomb.” Fletcher turned and left the office smiling manically. 

As he ran out of his office, Charlie slammed the door behind him. He knew where to find Don, and was calculating how long it would take him to get there. Now he remembered the case, and it wasn’t the FBI but LAPD he’d been working for at the time. 

Running to his car, Charlie sped off like a mad man heading to the warehouse. What he’d do when he got there was beyond him at this point. But he knew that he couldn’t let Don die for something he’d done. 

It wasn’t until he was halfway to the warehouse that Charlie realised he’d left his cell on the desk in his office. At least his gun was locked in the glove box of the car where he could get at it. 

When he arrived at the warehouse Charlie found the door locked. There seemed to be no way for him to get in. He was on the edge of panic when he spotted a small window near the corner of the building. Slipping his gun into the pocket of his jacket, he dragged an old crate over to the window, smashed the glass and climbed in. It took him more time to find his way to the office, and he feared his twenty minutes were up.

Running into the office, Charlie stopped and looked around. There was no Don. Fletcher had lied to him. Either he didn’t have Don, or he was somewhere else in the warehouse. Charlie spent the next half hour going through the whole warehouse without finding any sign of Don. Deciding that Fletcher must have lied, Charlie was just heading for the door when he heard a key in the lock. Ducking into the nearest doorway, which happened to be the office, Charlie hid behind the door.

“I know you’re still in here, Charlie, your car is outside. You didn’t find your brother did you? He’s not here. I lied, but he will be here soon. I called him to come rescue you.” Halfway to the office, Fletcher stopped beside a pile of crates. He hoped that Charlie would have his gun and be willing to shoot it out with him. That would make this so much more fun.

Charlie crept around the door and could just make out Fletcher in amongst the crates. He took out his gun, but was not sure he could really bring himself to shoot a man. “Idiot!” He said to himself. “Why did you buy it if you’re not going to use it?”

Fletcher was still talking. “When your brother gets here I’ll shoot him as he comes into the building. That’s when he’ll be the easiest target. Oh and when I’m done here with the two of you, maybe I’ll go to your house and shoot your dad too. And if Amita is there with him, well I think I’ll have some fun with her before I shoot her as well.”

Charlie was seething with anger now. Fletcher knew what to say to make him mad. His grip on the gun tightened. Maybe he could shoot a man after all.

Just then Fletcher started shooting at him. The shots had come nowhere near him but Charlie could see the shadowy figure of Fletcher still amongst the crates so he fired one shot. Wait, Fletcher was shorter than that, wasn’t he, Charlie thought just as he let off the shot. Then he heard Fletcher telling him that it was Don he’d shot.

“No!” Charlie dropped his gun in disgust and ran across to the crates, heedless of the fact that Fletcher might shoot him at any time. He fell to his knees next to Don. “Don. I’m so sorry. Don. Answer me.” There was no response. Slowly reaching out, Charlie felt for a pulse at Don’s neck. There it was, steady and strong. His other hand had come to rest on Don’s chest, and he could feel it rise, and fall.

There was not much light, but Charlie could make out a darker stain spreading across Don’s left shoulder. Ripping away the lower part of his shirt, Charlie made a pad which he slipped under Don’s shirt and pressed into the wound. This caused Don to moan, and brought him back to consciousness. 

“Charlie?” Don asked.

“Don. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to shoot you. I thought you were Professor Fletcher.” Charlie was close to breaking down. He should never have bought that gun. Don was right he had no business carrying a gun. They were dangerous in the wrong hands. Just look at what he’d done.

Releasing his gun, Don’s right hand came up and gripped Charlie’s shoulder. “Charlie listen to me. This is not your fault. Fletcher tricked you into shooting me. I’m sure he knew I was behind him, and deliberately provoked you into shooting at him.” 

“He’s right Charlie. This whole thing worked out better than I could’ve hoped. When I talked you into buying that gun, I couldn’t have wished for anything better than this. Tricking you into shooting your brother was priceless. But now it has to end before help arrives. I’ve already activated the bombs I’ve placed around this building. In two minutes it will all be over. You’ll both be dead. Buried in this warehouse, and I’ll be gone.”

Charlie watched as Fletcher stood, then turned and headed for the door. There was nothing he could do, even though he could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. They’d arrive too late. He wouldn’t leave Don, and he knew he’d never get him up and out of the building in less than two minutes. As Fletcher had said, they would die together.

Don’s hand had dropped from Charlie’s shoulder and found his gun on the floor beside him. Don figured that if he and Charlie were going to die here, then Fletcher was going to join them. He could just see Fletcher off to his right. Fletcher was now halfway to the door, so Don quickly fired two shots at him. Though Don’s aim was off, Fletcher cried out and fell to the floor. He tried to drag himself to the door, but it was too late. The bombs went off bringing down the building just as Fletcher had intended.

As the building started to collapse, Charlie threw himself on top of Don, hoping to shield him from some of the debris, even though he knew that more than likely they’d be crushed anyway. The whole world seemed to be falling down around them, but Charlie managed to see a section of the roof crush Fletcher as it came down. Then something hit the back of his head, and everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Don was the first to wake up. Charlie was lying on top of him, and Don knew he was alive because he could feel Charlie’s breath on the side of his face.

“Charlie, wake up. Come on Charlie, wake up.” Don released the gun he was still holding and shook Charlie gently in an attempt to wake him. Finally, Charlie stirred, and moaned.

“Don? Don, we’re still alive!” Slowly Charlie managed to roll off of Don and lie beside him. Putting his arm up, Charlie felt the back of his head. There was a definite lump, but it didn’t feel sticky so he figured he’d been lucky, except for the headache he now had. It was pitch black, which was somewhat disconcerting, but suddenly there was light. Don had found his flashlight in his pocket, and turned it on.

“Wow, would you look at that,” Charlie whispered as he looked up. “The odds of the roof coming down in sections like that were definitely not in our favour. It’s a good job we’re in amongst these crates, and that they held up, or we’d be crushed like Fletcher.”

“Yeah, I wonder what the odds are. No wait. That doesn’t mean I want you to calculate them either, Charlie. Listen, do you hear that?” The sirens were louder now as help was arriving. “David and Colby were only a few minutes behind me. That has to be them arriving. We need to let them know we’re still alive in here. I think the whole building came down, they may think there are no survivors.”

“I left my cell phone in my office,” Charlie said. “Do you have yours? We could try and call David, if your phone works in here, assuming it isn’t broken.”

“Actually Charlie, I have both cell phones. Yours is in my pocket next to you. Can you reach it?” 

Charlie rolled onto his side, then reached into Don’s pocket pulling out his cell phone. “Well I hope yours is in better shape than mine,” He commented as the phone fell apart in his hands.

Don placed the flashlight on his chest so he could unhook his cell from his belt. It looked intact, but his hand was shaking so much he was afraid of dropping it. “Here you make the call, I’ll hold the flashlight. David is number three on the speed dial.”

Charlie took the phone and flipped it open. “It seems ok, and there is a signal,” he said excitedly as he quickly called David.

“Don. Tell me you’re not under all this rubble!” David said before Charlie had a chance to say anything.

“David. It’s Charlie. We’re both under the rubble. Don’s hurt, and it’s my fault. I shot him in the shoulder. Fletcher tricked me. We’re about 200 feet in from where the door was. There are crates all around us, which kept the roof from crushing us.” 

“Where’s Professor Fletcher, Charlie. Did he make it out of the building?” David wanted to know.

“No David. I saw him crushed when the roof fell. How long before you can reach us? Don needs help.” While Charlie had been talking to David, the flashlight had slipped from Don’s hand landing on his chest. It was apparent to Charlie that Don was having trouble staying conscious.

“The rescue crews are arriving now, Charlie. After they assess the situation I’ll let you know what they say. In the meantime, do what you can to stop the bleeding from Don’s wound. It’s not your fault, Charlie. I’m sure Don’s told you that already, and he’s right. I’ll call you back in a few minutes. Okay?”

“Okay David, and thanks.” Charlie closed the phone and turned to Don. First he checked the cloth pad he had put on the wound earlier, and found that it had been dislodged. He repositioned it realising at the same time that there was fresh blood seeping from the wound. “Sorry Don, this is going to hurt.” Charlie said as he pressed down on the wound to try and stem the bleeding.

Don’s eyes flew open as he let out a groan. “Damn it, Charlie, that hurts.”

“I know Don, but I have to stop the bleeding. We may be in here for a while, and I don’t want to watch you bleed to death because of me. So be quiet and let me do this.” Charlie slid his free hand under Don’s shoulder without easing up on the pressure he was applying. “There’s no exit wound. That’s good, right? I only have to worry about putting pressure on one wound. Let’s give this a few minutes and see if the bleeding stops.”

Keeping the pressure on Don’s wound Charlie lay down beside him to wait.

Charlie had just checked Don’s wound which had finally stopped bleeding, when Don’s cell phone rang. Don had lapsed into unconsciousness a couple of minutes before, which was worrying Charlie.

“Hi David. Any news?”

“Yes Charlie. There’s a construction site close by, and we pulled some machinery from there. They are clearing an area to the right of where you are, in an attempt to reach the two of you. Hold on.” It sounded like David had covered the phone. Then suddenly he was back.

“Charlie, we have just found Fletcher’s body. How far from you was he when the building came down?”

“He was about 100 feet closer to the door than we were. There are crates all around us keeping the roof from crushing us. Is there a raised area to the left of where you found Fletcher?”

“It’s hard to tell with all this debris, Charlie. But I think we can pin point where you are. We have a thermal camera coming. Until then, we will stay to the right of that area. Don’t want to cause that section of roof to collapse in on you, now do we.” David had tried to make it sound like a joke. But Charlie knew that it was a possibility. If they hit the roof section that was covering them, it could break up, and fall.

“Charlie, how’s Don? I have paramedics out here waiting,” David continued.

“I’ve managed to stop the bleeding, and there’s not much else I can do. He’s drifting in and out of consciousness. Maybe find out if I should try to keep him awake or not.” 

“Hold on, I’ll ask.” There was silence for a while. “Okay Charlie. If Don doesn’t have a head injury, then you can let him sleep. If he does, you’ll have to keep him awake.”

Charlie signed. “There’s no head injury David. Thanks.” With that Charlie hung up. 

Looking at Don lying there, unconscious, Charlie began to feel guilt take over again. “I’m sorry Don. You were right. I’d no business buying a gun. I should never have let Professor Fletcher convince me I needed one. If I’d talked to you first, instead of being mad at you, none of this would’ve happened. You have to be okay Don. I couldn’t live if you died because I shot you.”

“Charlie, I’ll be fine,” Charlie jumped at Don’s words. He’d thought Don was unconscious. “They’ll have us out of here soon. I’m not going to die, and I told you, it’s not your fault. Fletcher tricked you into shooting me.” 

“Don. Don’t scare me like that. I’m glad you heard what I said. I meant it. But it was still me that shot you, not Fletcher.” Charlie had been lying on his back, now he rolled onto his side so he could look at Don. “Dad is going to be so pissed when he finds out. He hated me buying that gun. Now he’ll just hate me, and with good reason.”

“No Charlie. Dad will understand when he hears the whole story. The only person to blame for all this is now dead, and can’t hurt us anymore.” As Charlie watched, Don’s eyes were slowly drifting closed. 

“Alright Don. Get some rest.” Reaching out Charlie picked up the flashlight that was still lying on Don’s chest, loosely held by his right hand. He laid the flashlight between them, and turned it off to save the batteries. There was no telling how long they’d be in here. Then Charlie laid his hand back on Don’s hand, and held on to it, waiting for rescue to come.


	5. Chapter 5

He must’ve dozed off, because the next thing Charlie knew Don was shaking his hand, and calling his name. 

“Charlie! Charlie! Wake up.”

“Don.” Charlie said much too quietly for Don’s liking.

“Charlie, you’re scaring me. Wake up and talk to me. You’ve had a bang on the head, and shouldn’t be sleeping.”

“Sorry, Don. I guess I dozed off.” Charlie said contritely. “I’m fine. There’s only a mild headache now, and I don’t feel nauseous, so I doubt if I have a concussion.” 

Turning the flashlight back on, Charlie checked Don’s wound again. It hadn’t started bleeding, so Charlie turned off the flashlight and lay back down. He could hear a low rumble, and feel vibrations in the ground. As far as he could tell, they had been trapped for over half an hour.

“Hey, Don, I think I hear the machinery getting closer. They should have us out of here soon.” The rumbling sound was increasing in volume, and now was louder. Then the cell phone rang again. 

“Charlie, we’re getting really close. We can see you on the thermal image, and should be alongside in another couple of minutes. They plan to try and lift that section of the roof off, so they can get you out.” David’s voice was reassuring in Charlie’s ear.

As David finished speaking there was a loud groan from the roof section above Charlie and Don. Charlie quickly turned on the flashlight, then yelled into the phone.

“David. Tell them to stop. They’re going to bring the whole thing down on top of us. David. Did you hear me?”

Looking up, Charlie could see sections of the roof starting to separate from the main part. As it was, dirt and small chunks of debris were starting to fall on them. Dropping the phone, Charlie rolled over Don trying to keep the dirt from hitting his shoulder. Don had put his right arm up over his face, to keep the dirt out of his eyes.

The phone was lying beside Charlie now, and he could hear David’s voice, but not what he was saying. Reaching out, but staying over Don’s shoulder, Charlie managed to pick up the phone.

“Charlie! Charlie! Answer me! I’ve got them stopped. Are you both alright? Answer me, Charlie!” David sounded in a panic.

“We’re alright, David. Don’t let them do whatever they were doing. Sections of the roof are working themselves loose, and could come down at any time. You’ll have to find another way to reach us.” Charlie sounded a lot calmer that he actually felt.

The flashlight was still on, and Charlie could see Don looking at him. “You don’t have to protect me any longer Charlie. The dirt has stopped falling. But thanks.”

Charlie eased himself back down on his side, and picked up the flashlight. Shining it upwards he looked at the huge piece of roof that was ready to fall. Another minute, and they’d have been crushed. 

“Turn out the light, Charlie. I’d rather not know that’s coming down, if it falls.” Of course he’d still hear it, but seeing it was something else.

“Yeah Don. You’re right. Let’s go with that old saying ‘if you can’t see it, it can’t hurt you.’ That works for me,” Charlie turned the light off. 

“We have another plan, Charlie,” David said causing Charlie to jump slightly. He had forgotten he still had the phone open next to his ear.

“Okay, David. But you should know that there is a large piece of the roof right above us that’s separating. If that comes down…” Charlie couldn’t bring himself to say “we’re dead” but the thought was there.

“Colby is tunnelling in from the side. The rescue crews didn’t want to try that approach, but Colby says he was in a similar situation if Afghanistan and believes he can get through to you. It shouldn’t take him long as he only has a few feet to go. So hold on just a little while longer.”

“We’re not going anywhere, David,” Charlie said, then hung up.

“A little abrupt there don’t you think, Charlie,” Don said. He’d been surprised by Charlie’s flippant remark to David.

Charlie didn’t answer Don at first. He was too busy thinking about Colby. Why was Colby putting himself at risk this way? He should be letting the experts find a way to reach them. Anything could happen as he dug his way in, he could be crushed too.

“Colby’s trying to dig us out by tunnelling through to us. He’s taking an unnecessary risk, Don, and I’m scared and afraid for him. I’m also mad at him for doing this, when there are trained people out there.”

“You know that Colby would do anything for you Charlie. He considers you to be like a brother to him and therefore he would do anything to make sure you are safe, just as I would.” Don reached over and felt for Charlie’s hand.

“I can’t get us out of this Charlie, and that makes me mad. But Colby can do something, and he is, and I know that if David wasn’t in charge out there he’d be right behind Colby, digging us out.” Don had found Charlie’s hand in the dark, and was squeezing it with what he hoped was reassurance.

As Don spoke Charlie realized that he was right. He too thought of Colby, and David, as brothers and knew that if the tables were turned he would be trying anything to reach them. 

Suddenly a small point of light appeared to Don’s right. As they watched, it got larger. Then they heard Colby’s voice. “Charlie? Don? Can you hear me?”

“Yes Colby, we’re here.” Charlie answered relief in his voice. Not only had Colby found them, nothing had collapsed during the process.

It took a few more minutes for Colby to make the opening large enough for him to crawl through. He brought a large flashlight with him that lit up the whole area they were in. 

After looking around, Colby whistled. “Wow. You two were really lucky that these crates held.”

“Yeah, tell us about it,” said Don with a sigh.

“Don, are you going to be able to crawl out? It’s about five feet. If not, I’ll bring in a back board and pull you out on it.” Colby was examining the wound on Don’s shoulder as he spoke.

“I think I can make it.” Don answered. “But Charlie goes out first.” 

“Not going to happen, Don.” Charlie said with a steely look in his eyes. “You are closer to the tunnel, and I’d have to climb over you. You’re going out first, whether you like it, or not. I’ll be right behind you. Colby, you’d better go ahead of Don as he may need your help.” There was no way Charlie was going out ahead of Don, and Colby had to go first to help Don. So whether Don liked it or not, that was the way it was going to be.

Colby looked at Charlie with new respect in his eyes. He knew that Charlie was right. It was the best plan. He also knew that Don would argue the point as, like Colby, he wanted Charlie out safely. With Charlie coming out last there was always the chance something could happen, and neither Don, nor Colby, would be able to help.

Don opened his mouth to argue, but Charlie beat him to it. “Don, don’t argue. The longer we stay here, the greater the chance the roof will fall. Now let me help you turn over so that you can start crawling out of here. The sooner you get moving, the sooner I get moving.” 

The look in Charlie’s eyes told Don that arguing would only delay their escape. He could see that there was no way he was going to change Charlie’s mind. So with help from both Charlie and Colby, Don managed to roll onto his right side, and get on his knees. He could only use his right hand to crawl with, and knew that if Colby hadn’t been in front helping him he would never have made it.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, Colby helped Don to his feet then passed him off to a couple of paramedic’s standing there waiting for them. Turning around, Colby was about to go back into the tunnel to see what was holding up Charlie, when everything seemed to collapse. An enormous cloud of dust was expelled from the tunnel. “Charlie!” Don and Colby both yelled at the same time.


	6. Chapter 6

“Charlie.” Colby cried as he dropped to his knees in front of the tunnel mouth. Miraculously, the last part of the tunnel was still standing. As the dust settled Colby could see one of Charlie’s armed stretched out towards him. The rest of Charlie was covered in dust, and Colby preyed that it was only dust. 

Reaching into the tunnel, Colby found Charlie’s other arm, and started to pull him towards him. Suddenly Charlie pulled back, and pushed himself up to his knees, shaking the dust off of him.

“I’m alright Colby. Let’s just get out of here.” Charlie had started crawling forward again.

Colby could hear a commotion behind him, and realised that Don was fighting with the paramedic’s, and trying to reach the tunnel. Backing out, Colby turned to Don and grabbed his hands to make him look at him.

“Don. Charlie is alright. He’s coming out now. See?” A very dusty Charlie was just emerging from the tunnel as Colby spoke.

Don’s legs gave out at the sight of Charlie, but the paramedic caught him and put him on a gurney. On seeing Don’s collapse, Charlie jumped to his feet and ran over to the gurney.

“Don, I’m alright. Lie still and let the paramedic help you, okay?” Now that they were out, Charlie could see just how pale Don was, and it worried him.

David walked up and looking at Don, Charlie, and Colby, he made a decision. “Colby, I want you to go with Charlie in one ambulance, and the both of you are to get checked out. Don will be in the other ambulance. You can all meet up at the hospital.”

“I’m fine David. I don’t need to go to the hospital.” A surprised Colby said. But David gave him a pointed look, and then looked at Charlie with a nod. Charlie was still focused on Don and didn’t see the look, or the answering nod from Colby.

The paramedics working on Don were now ready to transport him, and another two were trying to steer Charlie over to a second ambulance. Charlie was resisting, wanting to go with Don instead. Colby walked back to Charlie and put his arm around his shoulders. “Come on Charlie, let’s get you to that ambulance. The sooner we’re on our way to the hospital, the sooner you’ll see Don again.”

Charlie stopped resisting and walked with Colby to climb into the ambulance, just as Don’s ambulance left with its lights flashing. 

As the ambulance doors were closing, David called out, “I’ll call your Dad, Charlie, and have him meet you at the hospital.” Then the doors were closed and the ambulance started to move.

Colby and the paramedic in the back with them made Charlie lie down on a gurney. Exhaustion was starting to overtake him, not to mention shock, and he was having difficulty keeping his eye open. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Charlie was unconscious.

“You’ll have to wait out here Agent,” one of the paramedics said to Colby. They then pushed the gurney with Charlie on it through the doors to the trauma bay. With a sigh, Colby turned and went into the men’s room to try and clean up before Alan got there. Once he had as much of the dust off as he could, Colby went back to the waiting room and took a seat facing the entrance doors to wait for Alan.

Don had woken up in the trauma bay as they were removing his clothes. “Where’s my bother?” He asked looking around.

“I’m sorry, Agent Eppes, I don’t know who, or where your bother is.” The doctor looking at Don’s shoulder wound answered.

“He should have come in right behind me.” Don started to become agitated, and tried to get up.

Just as the doctor thought he was going to have to sedate his patient, to keep him quiet while he examined him, a gurney was pushed into the bay next to them. On seeing it, Don tried even harder to sit up.

“Charlie? Charlie?” Don tried to get his bother’s attention. “What’s wrong with him?” Don asked the doctor. “He was alright at the scene” 

“If you promise to lie still I will go find out.” The doctor said calmly. Don just nodded his head in agreement, never taking his eyes off his brother.

Don’s doctor spoke briefly to Charlie’s doctor, then came back to Don. “Dr Flin says your brother is exhausted, and is sleeping. They will be running a CT scan on him because of the hit he took to his head, but otherwise he appears to be fine.”

Lying back down, Don had visibly relaxed as his doctor spoke to him. “Now, I’m Dr Small. Will you let me attend to your shoulder now?”

“Yeah doctor, and thanks.” Don said smiling up at the doctor. “But if you are keeping us both overnight I want to be in the same room as my brother. Okay?”

“Agent Eppes, there’s no way I would try and keep you two apart.” Dr Small replied.

Colby was still watching the door a few minutes later when Alan walked in, closely followed by Amita.

Jumping to his feet, he walked to meet them. “Alan, Amita, come sit over here.” Colby led them back to the area he’d been waiting in.

“Tell me what happened, Colby. David wouldn’t tell us anything over the phone except that they were both on their way here.” Alan had that no nonsense look that he used whenever he was in full protective father mode.

“Okay Alan. I’ll fill you in while we wait. But first let me say that they’re both going be fine.” Settling down in his seat Colby started to fill Alan, and Amita, in on what had happened at the warehouse. When he reached the part where Charlie had told them he’d shot Don, Amita gasped and put her hand to her mouth. 

“My God!” Alan exclaimed. “I knew buying that gun was the wrong thing for Charlie to do.” Alan didn’t understand how Charlie could do that. How could he shoot his own brother?

“Fletcher tricked him Alan. You know that Charlie would never shoot Don intentionally.” Colby had thought that Alan would take this part a little better than he seemed to be doing. So he quickly carried on with the rest of the story. When Colby was finished Amita was distressed, and Alan looked annoyed. He hoped Alan was not too annoyed with Charlie, and decided he’d better talk to Alan some more about this whole thing, when a doctor came into the waiting room.

“Anyone here for Don and Charlie Eppes?” The doctor asked.

Alan immediately stood and approached the doctor. “I’m Alan Eppes. Don and Charlie are my sons.”

“Nice to meet you Mr Eppes. I’m Dr Small and I’m treating your son Don. Come, let’s sit down and we can discuss Don’s condition.” Dr Small led Alan back to the seat he had been sitting in, then took a seat across from him.

“Don has a bullet wound to the left shoulder. It will require surgery to remove the bullet, and repair the shoulder. But I expect Don to make a full recovery. He is conscious right now, and you may go back and sit with him for a few minutes until we take him up.” Alan made as if to get up. He had to see Don for himself and make sure he was alright. That was what was important, he didn’t need to hear anything else from this doctor.

But Colby placed his hand on his arm to keep him in his seat. Turning to the doctor Colby asked. “What about Charlie? How is he?”

“Yes Dr Small, please tell us how Charlie is. I am Amita his fiancé.” Amita said quietly while looking intently at the doctor.

Alan wasn’t sure he wanted to hear about Charlie. He was having trouble understanding what Colby had told him, and was focused on Don.

Dr Small looked at Colby, then Amita, and finally back at Alan. “Charlie is unconscious at the moment. He passed out in the ambulance on the way here, and we are running tests on him to rule out anything serious, like a concussion. We think that he is just suffering from exhaustion, and shock, and his brain has decided to shut down for a while. He did suffer a blow to the back of his head, but we don’t believe he has a concussion. Don told us that Charlie was unconscious for a few minutes, so we are doing a CT scan on him.”

Dr Small stood then and Alan also stood ready to follow him into the trauma bays.

Alan was led straight to Don, who was lying awake watching the entrance as if looking for someone. As Alan came in Don sighed in relief.

“Dad have you seen Charlie yet? They took him out fifteen minutes ago, and now no one will tell me what’s going on with him.”

When Alan didn’t answer right away and seemed to be avoiding answering his question, Don looked at him sharply. “Dad, what’s wrong? I thought you would be more concerned about Charlie. You almost look like you don’t care.” Don couldn’t believe his dad could blame Charlie for any of this.

“Charlie shot you, Don. How can you be so calm about that?” Alan was still trying to process what Colby had told him, and he’d convinced himself that he didn’t care about Charlie right now.

“Come on, Dad. Fletcher tricked him. I’m just glad that it wasn’t the other way around. Think about that for a minute. If he’d tricked me into shooting Charlie, the outcome would’ve been worse.” Don needed to shock his dad out of this mind set he was in. He had to see this wasn’t Charlie’s fault.

“You would never have fallen for his trick and shot Charlie.” Alan retorted. “You’re too experienced for that. Charlie should never have bought that gun.” 

“Dad, I could very well have fallen for Fletcher’s trick. It was set up perfectly. Charlie really believed that he was shooting at Fletcher. He didn’t even know I was there.” Don was trying to push himself up in an effort to convince Alan to listen to him. 

“Donnie lay down. You’ll hurt yourself moving like that.” Alan pushed Don back down. “I’m still not convinced that you would have fallen for the same trick though.”

“Believe me Dad. If Charlie and I had been in the reverse positions, Charlie would be dead now. I’m a better shot than he is.” Don knew that this would be a shock to Alan. He just hoped it would snap him out of blaming Charlie for something that was really not his fault.

“You’d have shot your brother?” Alan asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes Dad. I’d have believed that I was shooting Fletcher, just as Charlie did. That’s what scares me, Dad. That someone could deliberately set that up. Because I know Fletcher led me there with that exact hope in mind. That was why he convinced Charlie to buy the gun in the first place. After Charlie shot me, Fletcher even said it went better than he could’ve hoped.” Don lay back now, and relaxed. He could see the anger go out of Alan’s eyes as he finally understood that Charlie was not to blame, Fletcher was.


	7. Chapter 7

Alan had been sitting with Don for only a few more minutes when Charlie’s gurney was wheeled back into the trauma bay. Dr Flin was right behind the gurney, and immediately walked over to Don and Alan.

“Dr Flin, this is my father, Alan Eppes.” Don introduced.

“Mr Eppes. Nice to meet you.” He looked at Charlie for a minute then back to Don and Alan. “Charlie is fine. The CT scan was negative. The x-rays were also negative. I’m sure that Charlie has simply shut down from shock, and exhaustion. He needs to rest for a while, so we’ll be keeping him in for at least 24 hours. A room is being prepared, and we’ll move him in there shortly. You’ll be put in the same room after your surgery, Don.”

Don simply nodded. “Thank you Dr Flin.” Alan finally found his voice. “Oh. And thank you for putting them in the same room.”

“Don insisted on it, Mr Eppes.” Dr Flin said with a smile as he turned to leave.

“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” Alan asked.

Don just smiled, and closed his eyes. 

Alan walked over to Charlie and looked down at him. He looked so peaceful lying there with no sign of any injury. How could he have blamed Charlie for shooting Don? “He looks so young when he’s asleep.” Alan said to Don.

Before Don could say anything a couple of orderlies came in to take him up to surgery. As they were wheeling him to the door, he said. “Look after him for me dad.”

“I will,” Alan said in reply.

Two hours later Alan and Amita were sitting by Charlie’s bed, when Don was wheeled into the room. After he was transferred to his bed Alan went over and stood beside him. “How are you feeling, Don?”

“I’ve felt better, Dad. How’s Charlie? Has he woken up yet?”

Alan sighed. It was typical of Don to think about Charlie first. He’d always been that way, and Alan supposed he always would put Charlie first.

“Charlie is still asleep, Don. I think that’s what you should be doing as well. So stop fighting sleep and relax. Amita, and I’ll watch Charlie for you until you can watch him yourself.” Alan had seen how Don was fighting to keep his eyes open, and knew that he needed to be reassured about Charlie. As Don’s eyes slid shut Alan knew that Don had accepted that Charlie was in good hands for now, and he could relax.

Sometime later, Alan convinced Amita to go down to the cafeteria for a much needed break. Shortly after she left, Charlie started to wake up. Getting up he went to Charlie and took his hand in his, then stroked his hair with his other hand. “Charlie, are you awake? Come on son, open your eyes.”

Charlie could feel someone holding his hand, and stroking his hair. At first he wasn’t sure who it was, until Alan spoke. Blinking against the lights overhead, Charlie finally managed to open his eyes.

“Dad, is that really you?”

“Yes Charlie, it’s really me. Who else do you expect to call you son? Would you like a drink of water?” At Charlie’s nod, Alan moved to get a glass of water from the table, and Charlie caught sight of Don.

“Dad how’s Don? Is he alright?” Charlie was now attempting to get up to go to Don.

Alan quickly put the glass down, and pushed Charlie back into the bed. “Don’s fine, Charlie. He’s just sleeping right now. The doctors fixed his shoulder, and said he’ll make a full recovery. Stay put while I get you that water.” Turning Alan once again picked up the glass of water.

“Dad I have to tell you that it was me who shot Don. Please don’t be mad at me, or hate me and leave. I couldn’t bear it.” To Alan, Charlie looked like a little boy pleading with his father for forgiveness. If he hadn’t already forgiven Charlie for shooting Don, there was no way he could have resisted the plea.

Pulling Charlie up into an embrace, Alan hugged him fiercely, even though Charlie lay limp in his arms. “Charlie, I don’t hate you, and while I was mad at you to begin with, Don set me straight.” Suddenly Charlie was returning Alan’s hug as hard as he could.

“I’m so sorry I ever bought that gun. All I managed to do with it was shoot Don.” Charlie was still holding on tightly to Alan. So Alan sat down on the bed and started rubbing circles on Charlie’s back in a soothing manner.

“Your brother’s fine, Charlie. It’s all over now. Fletcher is dead, and can’t hurt anyone anymore. No one is mad at you. We all love you. Amita will be back soon, so how about you go to the bathroom and get cleaned up so you look your best for her?” Alan pushed Charlie back a little so he could look into his eyes. 

Charlie’s eyes were shining with emotion, but he did as his father suggested, and with Alan’s help got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Alan closed the door to give him some privacy, then went to stand by Don’s bed and looked down at his eldest son.

“Don, you were so right. I’m glad you made me understand before I let Charlie see how mad I was. Thank you.” Alan patted Don’s hand.

“You’re welcome, Dad.” Alan put his hand to his chest as he jumped at Don’s voice.

“Don you almost gave me a heart attack. I thought you were asleep.”

Opening his eyes, Don smiled at his father. “I was asleep until you and Charlie started talking. Then I woke up, but I didn’t want to interfere with your conversation. You and Charlie had to work that out together, without my help.”

“Yeah I know. How’d I do?”

“You did great Dad. I think Charlie will be okay now.” Looking over at the bathroom door Don couldn’t wait for Charlie to come back out. While he’d told his dad Charlie would be fine, he needed to see that for himself.

As Alan and Don watched, the door slowly opened and Charlie came out. Seeing the two of them watching him, he smiled. “What?”

“Nothing buddy.” Don said. “I’m just so glad to see you. That’s all. Come here and give your big brother a hug.” Mischief danced in Don’s eyes.

Walking around to the right side of Don’s bed, Charlie sat on the bed and hugged Don tightly, trying not to hurt his injured shoulder. “You know what, Charlie?” Said Don. “I could get used to this hugging.”

“Me too, Don.” Charlie said sitting back and looking at Don. “So why have we never done this before?” 

“I think that’s my fault.” Alan spoke up. “Hugging was never a big thing in my family, and I never really hugged you boys much either.”

“Yeah, but Mum hugged me all the time.” Charlie said. “Didn’t she hug you too, Don?” Now he thought about it Charlie didn’t remember his mother hugging Don quite as much as she hugged him.

“No Charlie, not the way she hugged you. Then, when you tried to hug me, I wouldn’t let you. I was jealous.” Seeing the look on Charlie’s face, Don quickly went on. “I was only a kid, and as I got older I realised that maybe giving you a hug, now and then, would be good. But by then we weren’t that close anymore, and you didn’t seem to want to hug. So I just never bothered.” But maybe I should have, Don thought to himself.

“Well you aren’t kids anymore.” Alan said. “Also, you are a lot closer now than you ever were, so I think family hugs should be something we start doing.”

“I agree. How about you Chuck?”

“I agree too. And don’t call me Chuck!”

Realising that Don and Charlie were fighting sleep again, Alan shooed Charlie off to his own bed, and pushed Don back down and covering him up, he tucked him in. He ran his hand over Don’s hair and lightly kissed his forehead. Then he went over to Charlie and tucked him in too. Running his hand over his youngest son’s hair, he kissed him on the forehead as well. “Now, I expect both of you to go to sleep and let your poor old dad get some much needed rest. I’ll be here when you both wake up.”

“Okay dad.” Don and Charlie said at the same time. Each with their eyes closed on the verge of sleep.

Alan settled himself down in a chair between the two beds, and leaning on his arm on Charlie’s bed, he fell asleep almost as fast as his sons had done.

When Amita came back a few minutes later, she smiled at the sight of the sleeping Eppes men. Taking a spare blanket, she covered Alan. Pulling up a chair, Amita sat on the other side of Charlie’s bed, waiting for him to wake up.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it. I decided to post the whole story, hope you enjoyed it.


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